


With Head, Not Heart

by clarityhiding



Series: The Robin & the Bat [7]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cassandra Cain is Batgirl, Gen, Jason Todd Kills Joker (DCU), Jason Todd is Red Robin, Joker (DCU) Kills Bruce Wayne, Movie: Batman: Death in the Family (2020), Past Character Death, Talk of Therapy, Team Bonding, Tim Drake is Batkid
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-27 07:54:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30119559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clarityhiding/pseuds/clarityhiding
Summary: Red Robin and Batkid talk about the elephant in the room.
Relationships: Tim Drake & Jason Todd
Series: The Robin & the Bat [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2211501
Comments: 4
Kudos: 79
Collections: JayTim Week 2021





	With Head, Not Heart

**Author's Note:**

> For the FREE DAY of JayTim Week 2021. Have some backstory for this AU.

"Soooo."

"So?" Red Robin didn't glance up from his surveillance as his partner dropped down to sit beside him on the roof.

"So, we should probably talk about the elephant in the room."

"There's no elephant."

"There kinda is. Nightwing seemed pretty pissed with you the other night. Madder than I've ever seen him, even when I told him he should come back and be Robin again."

Geez. Red Robin still couldn't believe this little twerp had the balls to pull something like that. "There's bad blood between us. He doesn't agree with my methods."

"If you mean the killing people thing, I get that. Only you really don't do that anymore? Heck, not sure if you ever did."

Red Robin hunched his shoulders, tried to keep his focus on the apartment they were supposed to be watching. Batkid didn't know everything he did, between Ethiopia and now. He didn't— "Some things can't be forgiven."

"You mean like that time Nightwing freaked out and killed the Joker because he thought the guy had killed Spoiler, only then Batman brought him back because oooh nooo, killing is baaad?"

"Wait, _what_?"

"It was a thing. Batgirl told me. Plus, me and Spoiler dated for a hot second at one point," Batkid said, waving a hand like he hadn't just broken Red Robin's brain. "Though, honestly, I thought the time he hung up the fingerstripes and ran off to be Deathstroke's apprentice or whatever was way worse."

"How do you even _know_ this stuff?"

"Like I said, Batgirl told me. She thinks it's stupid for you guys to have your heads up your butts about this kind of stuff when you honestly would get a lot out of just talking it out."

"Batgirl doesn't talk."

"She has very expressive eyebrows."

"You can't see her eyebrows."

"We hang outside the mask. Oracle's cool about it. She likes me."

Babs _would_. Red Robin sighed. "So the golden boy's had a few screw ups. It happens. It's not the same."

"It's _totally_ the same," Batkid insisted, poking him hard in the shoulder. Ow. The kid must be finally building some real muscle, that had actually hurt. "You have your deep angsty death-resurrection-chemical slurry backstory—seriously, Batgirl knows everything—Nightwing has anger-management problems and an inability to maintain a healthy balance in his life… You both have _so_ many unresolved daddy issues. You're practically the same person sometimes, it's stupid to fight."

"I am _not_ taking therapy advice from a child."

"First—I'm fifteen, not a child. Second—just because I'm younger than you doesn't mean what I say isn't valid. Isn't the whole point of my being here, wearing this," he gestured down, hand lingering on the bat on his chest, "to help keep you grounded in the real world? Part of that's making sure you think with your head, not your heart."

Ugh, he hated it when the kid made sense like this. "There's… other stuff, too. Beyond the killing thing and… all of that," he explained. Was he really doing this? He pretty much had to, if he wanted to get the kid off his back. "I'm the reason Batman's dead."

"Wrong."

"You can't declare something wrong just because you don't want to hear it. It's the truth, and Nightwing knows it."

"If Nightwing thinks it's the truth, then that's just a sign of how much therapy he needs, which, spoiler, is a _lot_."

" _I_ set things up to get Joker out of Arkham, _I_ put him and Batman in the same room together, forced that confrontation and—and Batman didn't make it out." Joker didn't either, but only because everything had gone green as soon as Bruce fell. Jason hadn't really known anything for a long time after that. Until some twerp had asked him to stop.

"By that logic, Nightwing's responsible for Batman's death, because he didn't stop him from bringing back Joker. Heck, by that logic, _Batman's_ responsible for his own death since he's the reason Joker was alive to kill him." Batkid leaned over, knocking Red Robin's knee with his own. "Look, all of us are pretty screwed up in the head—we have to be, to do what we do. Don't go making things worse by blaming yourself for the wrong things."

Under the cowl, Red Robin blinked several times, trying to clear his vision. "Thanks, I guess. Gonna tell Nightwing the same thing?"

"Oh, heck no. I've got my hands full just dealing with your issues, I'm not about to try and tackle his. Besides." Batkid smirked, slow and evil-like. "He's talking to Batgirl."

Shit. "Between you and me, I definitely got the better part of that deal."

"I know, right? Now, about this name thing—"

"You're _not_ calling yourself Batman," Red Robin snapped at him.

"Wow, _harsh_."

**Author's Note:**

> [I have a tumblr!](http://themandylion.tumblr.com/) Come visit if you want ridiculous AU headcanons, rants about the English language (and/or educational publishing), plague fangirling, adorable baby bats, and veeeeery occasional fanart.


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